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02/28/2011

68va Entrega - MundoMix #18 (Carnival Time)

Carnival is a public celebration taking place immediately before the Christian Lent (the actual date varies from the end of January to the begining of March, depending on the year) and combines elements like customs, parades, and street parties. In spite of major differences in its celebration around the world, carnivals common denominator es that it is a period of permisiveness and celebrational mayhem.

The world's biggest carnival celebration is in Rio de Janeiro (Brasil). However, other important carnival celebrations around the world are the Venice Carnival (Italy), Carnaval de Barranquilla (Colombia), and Mardi Gra (New Orleans, USA). In the Caribbean, carnivals in Trinidad, Aruba, and Panama are worth noting.

We can hardly talk about carnival without talking about music, of course. Music is a common and essential element in any carnival celebration. That is why this MundoMix edition is dedicated to the music of carnival.

To kick things off, the musica of the Rio Carnival. Each samba school has a song, this is the song the schools parades to during its carnival participation. We include three of the so-called 'sambas de enredo', which is what this particular songs are called. We also include a representative song of the Carnaval de Barranquilla (by Cheo Acosta) and two soca songs from the carnival in Trinidad. From the Aruba Carnival, we have a song by Robert Jeandor. Although celebrated in a different context since advent of the Revolution, carnival in Cuba is celebrated during the months of June/July. Conga is a the main rhythm of the Cuban carnival and of course, it could not be missing from our carnival music showcase.